Keeping your car: let's share tips and habits

[LeftTown]

I have always driven high mileage cars.

Let's share our stuff: what habits do we have that can help the folks who are most affected by current events?

I'll go first.

Tara eats first. I still get high octane gas and regular oil changes but the pets eat kibble and I eat food bank food.

Top Ramen tastes fine and I'm learning to Wildcraft food.

Now it's your turn.

 

[bullfrog]

Lighten the load, change the oil and filter, buy high quality tires, slow down on rough roads and do not run at full throttle unless it is a true emergency. Drive like there is a raw egg between your foot and the gas petal. Coast up to stops by letting up on the accelerator petal well in advance of the stop.

 

[D'L]

My concept is this:
Every single thing that goes into the vehicle in terms of my car camping setup has to be the lightest weight possible that will still do the job. I don't make assumptions about what is lighter, I weigh it. (The plastic might weigh more than the aluminum or vice versa).
I act as if I am packing a backpack for a long backpacking trek.....every bit counts into the weight.

I am always amazed at people who have a full build-out and it is all wood. It looks great and it is very sturdy, will last, and all sorts of wonderful things to be sure. But wood is phenomenally heavy and it has to lower the gas mileage significantly, I would think. I think there are ways to have everything lighter and still be aesthetically pleasing, which is important to me. In my setup my goal is very lightweight but still attractive and sturdy.

I don't leave stuff in the car that I am not using right now. Every little thing weighs something.
The moment I see the light ahead turn red I take my foot off the gas.
The idea of the egg between your foot and gas pedal is good. Basically, I use the least amount of pressure that will keep the car at the speed I need (and it is a lot less than you think it is!)
Coast down hills whenever possible (I don't put the car in neutral, just take my foot off the gas)
I don't gun it to start up from a full stop but don't go overly slow either. A smooth but not rapid increase of speed is best, then I use the lightest pressure concept when I get to my speed.
I try very hard never to be in a hurry. I leave myself enough time to get where I want to go at a reasonable pace so I never have to rush unless it is an emergency or other sudden need.
By doing this whether in city or country or on highway and having an energy efficient car, I am getting a significantly higher MPG in my SUV than is advertised as the best you can get with that car. Lately I have averaged 36MPG combined driving.

 

[NctryBen]

I have that heavier camper built outta wood... haha. Diesel was about 2.60 then. I bought an enclosed trailer so I could haul tools and such. Now my hands are getting where I’m losing the use of them so maybe one more year in the camper. Meanwhile I’ll start building out the enclosed trailer to live in. Who knows what will happen down the road so I’d hate to buy something different and it be something I can’t use because of circumstances.
Solar, lithium, controllers and minimalist electric items. Of course power tools are higher power... but by a year from now I hope to be transitioning into the trailer. Point was made about weight of wood. One thing is I plan on building my cabinets using 1 X framing and remove the cabinet fronts and tack them on the framing. The cabinets are so heavy due to all the pressed wood they make them out of. Also chuck the heavy butcher block counter top. The camper was a good temporary build and I could see what I need to do here. Experimenting with heaters, water systems, refrigerator, stoves, beds,.... you name it. Now it’s time to narrow it all down.
I will likely slow down a tad on the road also. Find the sweet spot and set the cruise there. I’m trying to figure out optimums. What to sort of stock up on, what foods are best for health, affordability, and keeps. It’s a work in progress and is as individualized as can be.
Best to keep good tires on and rotate them, and do all the necessary maintenance. If something is acting up, change or fix it right away.
On the road things like staying clean, getting exercise, making contact with friends, eating good foods is important I think.

 

[LeftTown]

The egg is a fantastic metaphor! Thank you so much and please keep 'em coming.

On my way to this place called "civilization" that I barely remember.

Tara does NOT need a new valve cover gasket but she does need an oil change, which is roughly 4 times what it cost for my previous vehicle; it was a 1989 Honda Accord aka suicidal money pit.

I know she needs fuel injection cleaner when I get to the fast oil change place but what's the other thingy thing I should say "yes" to? Engine cleaner or something? They talk too fast.

She has relatively new tyres and I have no income and too many pets.

Should I have them rotated professionally, try to get a front-end alignment, or put on some sort of (relatively discreet) street theatre to ask a more knowledgeable fellow nomad to help me rotate front tyres:

Como ce dice, en anglais, I want to have TWO tyres to buy at the same time instead of four?

 

[D'L]

Find the sweet spot and set the cruise there

What works for you may very will be different, of course. But I have found that using cruise control in any vehicle is not the best path to high MPG. Reason is that if you are on cruise control, the car will give it more gas going uphill than on the flat in order to maintain the speed. I have found that the best gas mileage is had when the pressure I put onto the gas pedal (lightest possible) remains the same, not the speed of the car. This means going slower uphill. If you are not impatient with that (and it is not a hill where no one can pass you and will get understandably annoyed with you) you will get better mileage with that on hills. On the flat it is still better not to use cruise, because cruise only concerns itself with maintaining a certain speed. A headwind or even a side wind also means it will use more gas. If you are maintaining a constant very light pressure on the pedal, you will stay at or near the same speed most of the time anyway, and you'll get the best mileage. (I have experimented with this with different cars I have had and that is what I found. Not saying I know it all!)